WHEN a bank representative called to ask why I was not using their QR system, I realized the pitch was not about my needs. Small merchants in the Philippines know the pattern. Everyone wants to be your payment provider, but not everyone asks what you actually need.
I run a coffee business, growing it and selling retail, and I brought that frustration into my conversation with Aditya Haripurkar, CEO and co-founder of HitPay. Like most merchants, I watch fees closely because margins are thin and sales can be seasonal. I wanted to know if a fintech platform could offer something genuinely different or just more of the same pitch.
The pressure to go digital is real. By 2028, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) wants 60-70 percent of retail payments to be digital, in line with the Philippine Development Plan. For SMEs, that shift comes with a familiar worry: fees that chip away at margins.
HitPay is a Singapore-headquartered payments platform built for SMEs. Founded in 2016 and regulated by central banks in its operating markets, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), BSP and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), it serves over 10,000 merchants and processes more than $2 billion in annual transaction volume, with a team of roughly 35-40 people across Southeast Asia. Haripurkar’s starting point was simple: digital payments should not feel like extra work.
Bundling payments with tools that reduce the mess
When I asked how HitPay can be a lower-cost option compared to banks or larger e-wallets, Haripurkar did not frame it as a race to the bottom on fees. He pointed to national QR systems as the practical entry point. In the Philippines, that means QR Ph, which he described as a low-cost way for merchants to accept payments. The platform integrates those methods into tools that help automate day-to-day work.
Beyond payments, HitPay offers a free online store builder, letting merchants start selling online without upfront costs. For businesses still operating mainly through a social media page, it lowers the barrier to having a more complete online presence.
On point-of-sale (POS) software, many merchants pay monthly fees or upfront costs to a vendor. The company provides POS software free of charge and earns through a commission per transaction. The real calculation also includes how many systems a merchant is paying for and how much manual checking they are forced to do.
There is also a fraud problem merchants know well. A customer scans a QR code, pays, then shows a screenshot as proof, even though screenshots can be faked. HitPay says confirmation happens inside the dashboard, so if it appears there, it has cleared, with settlement arriving the next day.
From digital to physical, and rural too
For rural merchants or those on basic phones, payments can be accepted through physical terminals or via QR code using HitPay’s software. That flexibility matters in a country where not every seller operates from a stable internet connection or a full-featured smartphone.
The company builds biometric options into the dashboard login, enabling access through Touch ID or Face ID. Haripurkar said those standards trace back to requirements set by Singapore’s MAS, which the platform applies across its markets, including the Philippines. He also stressed something he considers nonnegotiable on the inclusion side: small merchants should use BSP-licensed platforms.
Onboarding can be done on mobile or desktop. Philippine merchants need a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) registration or a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) certificate, plus compliance documentation. If everything is in order, approval can come within one to two business days.
Growing fast, staying lean
HitPay grew by over 100 percent in the Philippines last year and 150 percent in Malaysia. Singapore remains its most mature market, but the Philippines — where the company has operated for over two and a half years — now has over 1,000 active merchants.
Haripurkar said HitPay works closely with local partners including GCash, BillEase and Grab, and that its acquiring bank is one of the prominent digital banks in the country.
The team is lean by design, he said. Growth at all costs is no longer rewarded in fintech. What matters now are unit economics and margins, “in the age of AI that we live in today,” he said. HitPay’s 10 years in business, he added, prove that discipline can outlast burn rate.
My coffee moves in July, when supply is ready, and I asked Haripurkar whether a seasonal seller could use HitPay only when needed. Haripurkar’s answer was four words: “You can use us whenever you want to.”
For SMEs trying to meet the BSP’s 2028 targets while keeping costs under control, that kind of flexibility may matter as much as the technology itself.
